Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose acetate succinate-based spray-dried dispersions: an overview.

Spray-dried dispersions (SDDs) of low-solubility drugs have been prepared using the polymer hydroxypropyl methylcellulose acetate succinate (HPMCAS). For a variety of drug structures, these SDDs provide supersaturation in in vitro dissolution determinations and large bioavailability increases in vivo. In bile-salt/lecithin in vitro solutions, these SDDs provide amorphous drug/polymer colloids and an increased concentration of free drug and drug in micelles relative to crystalline or amorphous drug. As dry powders, the SDDs are a single amorphous phase in which the drug remains amorphous and dispersed and does not crystallize over storage times relevant for practical drug products. A melting temperature (Tm)/glass-transition temperature (Tg) (K/K) versus log P map for 139 compounds formulated as SDDs provides a perspective on an appropriate formulation strategy for low-solubility drugs with various physical properties.

Computation of brain-blood partitioning of organic solutes via free energy calculations.

The ratio of brain-blood partitioning, log(Cbrain/Cblood) (log BB), of a series of compounds that range from simple solutes to histamine H2 antagonists was correlated with computed solvation free energy in water (delta G degree W). The free energies were computed with the AMSOL 5.0 program using the AM1-SM2.1 solvation model. From a set of 55 compounds, a function was developed in which log BB was related to the free energy of solvation as follows: log BB = 0.054 delta G degree W + 0.43 (r = 0.82 and standard error = 0.41). This correlation provided successful prediction of brain-blood partitioning for compounds outside the training dataset. Furthermore, for a set of 10 drugs, delta G degree W correlated well with literature data for the permeability of endothelial cell monolayers from bovine brain microvessels. In neuroscience drug discovery, the use of computed solvation free energies to predict brain penetration provides a facile method for prioritizing synthetic targets.

The absence of an effect of food on the bioavailability of azithromycin administered as tablets, sachet or suspension.

Present product labelling indicates that azithromycin capsules should not be taken with food. However, three recent studies demonstrated that food does not significantly decrease the bioavilabilities of three new formulations of azithromycin (250 mg tablets, 1000 mg sachet, 500 mg paediatric suspension). With a 500 mg dosage, the mean relative bioavailability of azithromycin following ingestion of a standard high-fat breakfast was 96% when administered as two 250 mg tablets and 113% when administered as a suspension. The mean relative bioavailability of a 1000 mg sachet was 112%. The absolute bioavailability of the sachet formulation, relative to a 1 h iv infusion of 1000 mg, was 44%. Thus, azithromycin tablets, suspension and sachet may be given without regard to meals, further enhancing the convenience of once-daily, short-duration dosing regimens.